


The Hounds

by Queen_Kit



Series: Snippits of Life [1]
Category: Star Wars Original Trilogy
Genre: Alternate Universe, GFY, Gen, Original Character Death(s)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-29
Updated: 2016-01-29
Packaged: 2018-05-16 23:28:20
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,216
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5845102
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Queen_Kit/pseuds/Queen_Kit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's what they've been training for</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Hounds

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Snippits of Life](https://archiveofourown.org/external_works/171985) by Queen Kit. 



> This is a reworking of a fanfiction that I originally wrote in 2010. Original is on FFN

It was the day that they had all been waiting for.  It seemed as if all of their lives had been building up to this moment; the endless hours of training, following every command, all in hopes of getting praised.  They hungrily snapped up every reward they were given, every scrap was needed to fortify oneself and to grow.

Once they had been sloppy, not yet grown into themselves, now they were the sleek, well groomed hounds.  They could track the foxes through the mud and forest, leading their fellows to stage an inescapable attack.

Now it was just a matter of waiting.  Waiting to know which of them would be chosen to lead, and which relegated to follow, no better than the rest of the strays picked off the streets.

The pack shifted restlessly.  They were unused to being penned up together like this, still they obediently maintained position.  They were to remain standing at the ready, facing the obscured viewing area from which they would be observed.  Obedience was the key in this exorcise, follow orders and you would be chosen.

Whoever they were they had already seen what he could do if allowed to lead the pack.  What there was to prove today was what he would do if his master commanded he follow them. He would not fail.  He would be chosen.  They would see that he was worthy.

It was clear within only minutes that many of the others were unworthy.  They were long past their playful childish days, yet they fidgeted.  There was a murmur of sound beginning, breaking the commanded quiet.  Soon the room was loud, excitement and irritation surrounded him.  He remained still.  He remained quiet, not a whine or hiss of breath passed his lips.

They started to move, turning away from the viewing area.  They believed it was over, they believed there was no one there.  The most immature of his age mates was approaching, bouncing and wagging his way over with whatever news he thought he had.

He took a deep breath, maintaining his calm focus, waiting for the next command.  His only movements came when he was jostled by the disobedient hounds around him.

The door opened.  The guilty parties stilled and hushed, frozen where they stood.  The master’s gaze settled upon him.  He knew that feeling, that gaze, he had felt it upon him several times over the course of his training.  It was the feeling that had driven him so desperately to succeed.  This was the master he desired.

He tried not to squirm.  He was not certain he succeeded.

\---

Vader stepped through the door to the training room the candidates had been gathered in radiating disapproval.  What he had done, commanding them to be silent and still and leaving them there for hours, was cruel, but it would show him what he was looking for.  He was looking for responsibility and he had found it.

"Cadet Piett. You will come with me." There was nothing else to say, someone else could handle the reprimand that the other’s deserved.  He had something much more important to attend to.

"Yes, my Lord." It was gratifying to see the young man promptly snap to attention, heeding the command.  Officers like Piett were those he needed behind him.  He showed critical thinking in his training when it was needed, but he could follow orders above and beyond expectations when it was required.  He had high hopes that this one might prove to be more loyal, to Vader and Vader alone.

He was about to turn and leave the room when there was a sound of outrage from one corner.  The furious young man standing there had obviously not expected the quiet and studious Piett to be the one Lord Vader would choose for his personal protégé.  It was a position that might one day lead to being in Command on the Sith Lord's Flagship, second only to Lord Vader himself.

"Is there a problem Cadet-?" There was no emotion in Vader’s voice, nor in his presence, but it was as if the entire room had been frozen in time.  Not a single soul moved, none daring to breathe, in the feeling of impending disaster.

The Cadet glowered. His outrage at the perceived injustice of having his name unknown to Lord Vader was apparent.

"Cadet Mouna." He left a deliberate pause before he finished. "Sir."

The tension in the room rose as he _deliberately_ insulted the second most senior military officer of the entire Empire.

"I am meant for that position, not," He sneered at Piett, "him. Cadet Piett couldn't command his way out of the fresher."

Cadet Mouna had been known to brag to the other cadets about the superior position he would attain upon his graduation due to his father's influence. To see another cadet get the choice position of the year broke any restraint that he had on his big mouth.

"The position has already been given to _Ensign_ Piett."

Out of the corner of his eye Vader saw Piett’s posture straighten.  There was an additional confidence there suddenly, that single word allowed him to behave in the manner that suited a superior officer albeit superior only to a cadet like Mouna.  As it was Mouna would remain a cadet for several more weeks-

"You can't do that! My Father-"

\- If he survived that long.

Vader had no time or patience for such antics.  "-Is a fool to think that a few credits in the right hands would guarantee his son a position in my ranks."

The words rumbled dangerously across the room sending the other Cadets scattering to whatever corners they thought might be safe from the Sith’s rage.  Piett again was the only to remain still standing beside Vader with an unreadable expression on his face.  It was obvious to all that Mouna had made his final, fatal, mistake. Vader could not stand corruption, especially in his officers, like Cadet Mouna’s father.

Vader raised his hand and the foolish cadet rose off the ground with it.  The young man struggled against the choke hold as his feet left the ground.  As soon as he realized that he wouldn’t be able to free himself he fell apart, terrified tears leaving his eyes.  However there was no one here to save him, even if they might have felt any pity for the braggart, he had brought this fate upon himself.

They stood there and watched Mouna die.  Vader was certain most of the Cadets remaining from this bath would now be vying for positions as from his presence as possible.  He found he didn’t mind that. When he dropped the lifeless body on the ground they all seemed to stop breathing, wondering if someone else would be next.

Vader turned away.

"Do not fail me Ensign Piett."

"Never, my Lord."

There was something like a spark of electricity in the air, a sense in the force.  Firmus Piett would live and die by Lord Vader's command. His loyalty would never waver from the man in front of him.

Behind his strongest shields Lord Vader felt intense satisfaction.

Perhaps it would one day be possible for the Empire to be free of Lord Sidious's destructive grip and guided into an era of true peace.


End file.
